


Turning point

by elareine



Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [10]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Ghost Hunters, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Multi, Nightmares, Psychic Abilities, Sleepy Cuddles, Supernatural Elements, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-18 03:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21721384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elareine/pseuds/elareine
Summary: Jason and Roy are couple hunting demons and evil ghosts. A month ago, they took in a medium that had just come into his powers.Those things leave their own scars.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558834
Comments: 4
Kudos: 177
Collections: Tim Drake





	Turning point

**Author's Note:**

> Advent calendar day ten: demon/ghost/monster hunters.

Tim stared at nothing, silent horror written into the lines of his too-thin face. 

Roy rubbed his back sympathetically. “Nightmare?” He sounded remarkably calm for a man who had been running into the room armed to the nines just forty seconds earlier. How he did it, Jason would never know. At least Jason had been awake when Tim screamed.

“Wanna talk about it?” Roy asked. No reaction beyond the slightest shake of the head.

As if they couldn’t guess. That night they found Tim… it hadn’t been pretty. 

The veil had been thin that particular week thanks to a major incident in southern Wyoming. Assholes had been popping out at crossroads and haunted mansions all day, every day. By the time they had made it to the place a gruesome occult homicide was rumored to have produced a demon, Jason and Roy had been exhausted. 

They hadn’t found a demon, just a medium that had just come into enormous powers in the worst way possible. It was the kind of shit that should happen to no one, and this young man had appeared to be all alone in the world. Of course Jason and Roy had taken him with them. 

It had been a month, though, of traveling and fighting and laughing together, and still this happened. It was as if Tim still thought he was alone and unsafe. Considering him, Jason thought that Tim was probably more afraid of what his powers would do next than what could happen to him. 

There was no helping it. 

“Roy. Get him into bed with you.” 

“Jesus, Jay,” Roy murmured even as he moved to pick Tim up as if he weighed nothing, “I thought we were waiting to spring that proposition on him.” 

At least the movement—and that joke—got Tim to shake off his stupor. “What?” 

(It was not really a joke. They _had_ talked about it because they had been doing this for a while together—‘this’ being a relationship—and were awesome at communication, thank you very much. And yes, the conclusion had been to allow Tim to grow comfortable at first because they didn’t want to take advantage of his fragile state. But that was flying right out of the window if Tim needed them, so Roy could shut it.)

Roy laughed and didn’t answer. Jason just said: “Roy’s pretty good at neutralizing any supernatural effects.” 

“You make it sound like it’s a skill and not an accident of nature.” 

“The skill being that no one brained you for bragging about it yet.” 

Tim frowned. “What does you being a null have to do with—oof.” 

Roy had tripped over the carpet and deposited Tim on the double bed rather more hastily than he had envisioned. 

“Careful,” Jason chided. “You throwing Tim through the room is opposite of comforting.” 

“Shut it.” There was no heat to the words. “As if you can talk.”

“Actually, I can inform you it’s been exactly nine years since I’ve stumbled over anything.”

Roy showed him the finger before sitting down next to Tim with great dignity. “So. You stay with me, I can probably suppress some of that power. No worries about what you’ll see or do. Also, we get cuddles out of it! If that’s cool with you.” 

Tim nodded shyly. “If you’re sure it’s not too much of an imposition…” 

“Nah, Roy’s a cuddle bug if I ever met one,” Jason chuckled. “Go ahead and take advantage of that any time you want.” 

Roy spread his arms. “What about it, hmm?” 

There was a moment of hesitation, then Tim gave in and moved into them. Jason hovered just behind him, careful not to touch Tim. He could see how Tim’s grip on Roy’s sleepshirt slowly grew tighter even as he relaxed into Roy’s arms. 

“Better?” Roy whispered, pressing a kiss into Tim’s hair. 

“Yeah, but—” Tim reached out blindly, searching for Jason. “Can you—”

Jason sighed, ready to reassure Tim that it was okay, didn’t hurt, it was just a bit cold when people’s hands went through his chest, that was all, and of course he was cuddling with them in spirit, no pun intended—when Tim grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. 

Roy and Jason went absolutely still. 

“What?” Tim asked, starting to look defensive, but not letting go of Jason. “You said to cuddle; I’m not about to steal your bed and your boyfriend from you for the night—”

“Tim.” Jason felt dazed. “I’m dead. I don’t cuddle.”

“I’ve never touched him,” Roy whispered. 

“Oh.” Tim looked unsure all of a sudden. “Should I not have—” 

“I.” Jason swallowed. “Actually. Would it—Could you do that again?” 

Human contact. It had been so long. Jason had stopped craving it, eventually; or rather, had buried the need for it so deeply that it had been easy to silence. 

Jason’s eyes were glued to Tim’s hand as it moved toward him. He knew Roy’s were, too. And then it touched Jason’s shoulder, pulled him closer again, and _it wasn’t a fluke,_ it was _real_ , Tim could _touch him—_

Jason slid his own fingers down to grab Tim’s wrist and guide him until he was cradling Jason’s jaw, his fingers gentle. Jason leaned into the touch with a quiet sigh, then he moved forward, finally, _finally_ dropping a single tender kiss to Roy’s lips. 

Jason could feel Roy’s hiccuping breaths against his lips. If he could, he would cry. 

“I guess,” Tim began, tentatively, but accelerating as he went on, “maybe my powers are strong enough to bring Jason over? Like. I can feel him there. I don’t usually have the control for this, but a lot of it is tied up in your null stuff—I don’t really get it yet, to be honest, but we can do some research, right? Maybe there’s a way to harness this—”

“Tim,” Roy said earnestly, “thank you.” 

Tim smiled back. It was almost too weak to tell, but Jason could already see what a stunner the kid would be if he regained some real joy. “You’re welcome.”

This was the first time Tim’s powers were used for something good, Jason realized. That had to mean something. A turning point. 

Maybe. For now, Jason was happy to hold Roy and Tim in his arms and keep watch over them all night. 


End file.
